Supermoon, January 31, 2018

NASA's Info on the Supermoon

Jan. 31 will be a trifecta of lunar awesomeness. For the first time in 150 years, there will be a super blue blood moon. This means:

• The moon will be a "supermoon," which is when the Earth is closer than usual to its satellite. The moon will be 223,068 miles (358,994 km) from Earth, instead of the average distance of 238,855 miles (384,400 km), making the moon 14 percent brighter than usual, according to NASA.
• It's the second full moon of the month, which is known as a "blue moon." This doesn't make it look any different, it's just a quirk of the calendar.
• The moon will also be moving through the Earth's shadow, which will create a total lunar eclipse in some areas. This will give it a reddish tint, which is called a "blood moon."

Video of the Supermoon Eclipse

The rare Super Blue Blood Moon is finally here! This morning, a rare treat will light up the sky: a Blue Moon, a total lunar eclipse and a supermoon all at the same time! It's the first total lunar eclipse since 2015 and the first Blue Moon Blood Moon visible from the U.S. since 1866! Read on for our full guide. (The webcast above is provided by Slooh.com. It begins at 5:45 a.m. EST (2045 GMT) and ends at 11:15 a.m. EST (1615 GMT). Visit Slooh.com to explore space.)

Here's a more defined photo of the shadow of the Earth passing over the moon. Photo by Mr. Rogers.

A photo of the "blood moon" by Mr. Rogers.

More on the Supermoon

People from across the country are gazing up into the sky early Wednesday morning to get a glimpse of the rare Super Blue Blood Moon. 
Not since Andrew Johnson was President, the second dome on the U.S. Capitol was completed and Jesse James completed his first robbery will the skies experience an event like this.
NASA has started its live stream of the total lunar eclipse that will occur with a blue moon, known as a Super Blue Blood Moon, for people to see the spectacular event unfold. 
By no stretch of the definition is a full moon rare. It happens approximately once a month, or every 29.5 days. Occasionally, it happens twice in one month, approximately every three years or so. This event is known as a Blue Moon, according to Fox 5 DC.
The last Blue Moon occurred in July 2015 and in 2018, we'll experience two of them, a phenomena that won't happen for another 19 years. The second Blue Moon is slated to occur in late March.
The Blood Moon occurs because the Earth is passing between the Moon and the Sun, which gives the Moon a reddish tint to it. It's caused by light bending around the Earth because of gravity passing around a portion of the atmosphere, more commonly known as a lunar eclipse.
A Blue Moon combined with a Supermoon (when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth and appears to be 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than normal) the rare phenomena is called a Super Blue Blood Moon happens. Supermoons generally only occur once every 14 months and will not happen again until January 2019.
​The last time all of these events occurred simultaneously in the North America was 1866.